Marlin - Striped Marlin Nairagi

Striped Marlin has flesh which varies in color from light pink to orange-red. Orange-red flesh is especially desired by the sashimi market. It has a firm texture and a distinctive flavor which is similar to but more pronounced than the flavor of swordfish. Nairagi is considered the finest of the marlins due to its tender flesh. Keep the center of the fish rare to avoid being dry.

Typical Cooking Methods

Alternate Names

Description (Tetrapturus audax)

The body of the striped marlin is long and slender. It is smaller than the blue marlin, with a dark steely blue back which is lined with dark cobalt blue or lavender stripes, which fades to a silvery white belly.

The striped marlin has the most pronounced vertical stripe markings compared to other billfish. Generally it has fourteen to twenty vertical stripes which can “light up” to a very brilliant lavender to purple. Striped Marlin can grow to about 13 feet and 494 pounds, but commercially caught fish are usually between 40 and 100 pounds.

Striped Marlin Fresh Availability

Fresh seafood availability chart: green areas show peak availability, light green show limited availability, gray indicates not available fresh. In Australia, striped marlin are caught mainly off southeastern Australia in October and November.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Striped Marlin Butchering Yield Percentage and Recovery

Item	To Skin/On Fillets	To Skin/Off Fillets	Notes
Whole Head/Off gutted		60%	If you have additional yield info on this fish please leave a comment below.
Yield % varies according to a number of factors including: size of fish, season, sex, and the skill of your fishmonger.

Range & Habitat

Striped marlin are found in the tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. On the West Coast of the United States they range as far north as Oregon, but are most common south of Point Conception, California.

Typical Wholesale Products

Striped Marlin (Nairagi) Sustainability Info

Name	Alternate Names	Catch Method	Catch Region	Mercury Concerns
Striped Marlin	A`u, Makijiki, Nairagi	Wild	Worldwide	Elevated
Disclaimer: The sustainability info above is accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, each program randomly updates their information without our knowledge. We therefore recommend that you verify the current accuracy of this information.
= Best Choice/Recommended = Good Alternative = Avoid/Not Recommended				Updated August 2013

Striped Marlin are rated “Avoid” by all the sustainability scorecards due to severe decline in the populations of this species.